For those who do not have access, note that Elsevier and ScienceDirect typically offer free online access to each year's first published issue of a given journal, access that expires at the end of the year. In this instance, free online access to the January 2006 issue of Geomorphology is being offered.

BTW, does anyone happen to know if "Jonathan D.A. Clarke," author of paper #8 ("Antiquity of aridity in the Chilean Atacama Desert"), is the same "JonClarke" who posts here (and on the Space.com discussion boards)?

If, for some reason or other, the link above doesn't work for others, try this one.

Thanks Alex. Yes, that is me. I did some consulting work in the Chilean Atacama back in the late 90's when I was in the exploration industry, and this paper is a summary of some of the non-minerals exploration related conclusions. It took a while to get the paper out for a range of reasons, so I am very pleased to see it finally up there.

The Atacama is a fantastic place to both visit and work in, where you are interested in economic geology, hydrology, sedimentology, geomorphology, microbiology, geochemistry, mineralogy, or comparative planetology.

Cheers

Jon

PS Added in edit: I tried to respond to your email, but in bounced.

I presume you left your umbrella at home.

How did you guess?

Congratulations on the paper, Jon. I was pretty sure the author was you. In any event, it's a real interesting paper, and it offers nice geological context, especially when reading Mars-related astrobiological research conducted there.


No problem.

Glad you liked it!

I see my main contribution of the paper as pulling together the evidence documented by for a record of aridity going back to the Triassic. Most of the research on the history of aridity has focussed on the onset of hyperaridity, commonly related to the uplift of the Andres. This has been creeping back through the Pliocened and it the Miocene. The latest dates suggest that the area has been hyper arid since the early Miocene or Late Oligiocene, based on cosmogenic dates on surface boulders. It is extraordinary to think that surface boulders have been sitting there for more than 25 million years.

There is a huge potential for research there into long term landscape evolution in arid regimes, it has been hardly touched.

Cheers

Jon

I studied a lot of geology and some meteorology and other physical sciences in college. One tends to remember the really big record setting global locations such as Atacama Chile, Coffeyville Kansas, and El Azizia Libya.

Not to forget Vostok! But Cofeeville? World's biggest cappachino????????

Jon

That was the largest hailstone I beleve.

Although I think the record was broken a few years back - and anyway it looks like it's only a US record anyway.

See for example:

http://weathersavvy.com/Q-Hail1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Hail

You know, I left out Vostok subconsciously. Perhaps it's because I'm a Californian who spent a several years as a child in Montreal and also went to college in Bozeman, Montana. I hate the cold.

But while we are at it I left off Agata, Russia (though that record I believe was surpassed in Mongolia in the last couple of years)